Book reviews

This is the author's first book, a n d an earlier version of a section included i n it appeared in the new historicist j o u r n a l Representations. After a short introduct ion, the work comprises four chapters which deal chronologically with figures f rom the book's half-century timespan. There are successive chapters on the early explorers and would-be colonists, Sir H u m p h r y Gi lbert and Sir Walter Ralegh, a chapter on pioneering A m e r i c a n colonist J o h n Smith, and finally a chapter o n the editor under whose auspices the exploits o f these and many early English adventurers have come down to us, R ichard Hakluyt. Fuller's statements of intent may not inspire. She says she is interested i n "demystifying the early history of Engl ish A m e r i c a as glorious expansion" ( r 1 ), but she does at least convey the correct impression that the demystifiers have surely had it al l over the mystifiers for quire some time. Peter H u l m e (Colonial Encounters) is cited programmatically, but when Ful ler quotes h i m as recently attributing the "'obsessive' documentation of the early Engl ish voyages and colonies to a 'self-conscious effort to create a continuous epic myth of origin for the emerging imperia l n a t i o n ' " ( r ) , Ful ler is referring less to an oppositionalist scholarly intervention than she is relaying a sentiment stated quite directly by Hakluyt himself i n the epistle dedicatory to his Principal Navigations (1589). Fuller's too brief ruminat ion o n how the superficially dry and denotative Hakluyt documents may be regarded as offering and constituting authorial self-representation, participating i n the "product ion of selves" and contributing to a developing form of m o d e m authorial self-consciousness, is more engaging (7). T h o u g h such th inking may abut i n a simple "démystification," it leads more suggestively into the ensuing study of the rhetoric of exploration tracts.

The case which called forlh these observations of Mr. Parkinson will be in the recollection of most of our readers. He signed a certificate testifying the insanity of a Mrs. Daintree. in consequence of which she was confined in a mad-house, where she remained about three months. Three years within a month after the time of signing the certificate, Mr. Parkinson received a subpoena, and attended as a witness on the trial of the parties implicated in depriving Mrs. Daintree of her liberty. The result of the trial was, the defendant Benjamin Elliot was found guilty, and sentenced to^six months imprisonment in the House of Correction in Cold-bath fields.
If this verdict of the jury be correct, Mr. Parkinson must have acted interestedly, or injudiciously; he has therefore, in our opinion, very properly published the particulars of Parkinson on Mad-houses. 149 ihe ease, which at least justifies his conduct in the affair. I lie minds of the jury seem to have been influenced by the direct contradiction of the defendant's principal witness, and in some degree perhaps by Mr. Parkinson not being able to sweat to him, although he had afterwards no doubt of his identity. Mr. Parkinson, before he signed Mrs. Daintree's certificate, had examined her son, who declared that she was mad ; on his examination in courl, on oath, ^his young man denied that he bad ever been questioned by Mr. P. respecting the state of his mother's mind, or that he had ever acknowledged that she "Was insane. Unfortunately Mr. Parkinson's memory would Hot allow him to identify this young man, when giving his evidence. As Mr. Parkinson did not sign the certificate untilhewas convinced of the.patient's insanity from his own observation, surely this conduct of a witness should not have made any undue impression in court.
We shall now state some of the excellent remarks which this case has drawn from Mr. Parkinson.
One of the most important articles in the Act for regulating mad-houses, is that which prevents patients being received ? into them without an order in writing, under the hand anil seal of some physician, surgeon, or apothecary. This regulation is doubtless productive of much good ; there can be few individuals legally entitled to the rank of physician or surgeon, incompetent to determine upon the sanity or insanity of a patient. u But how widely different is it with respect to some of those per^ sons who call themselves apothecaries, and thence presume to judge respecting diseases. Their abilities have been examined by no prescribed tpst, nor have they received any authority to take on themselves the dedicate and important task of judging of, or of practising upon, the dk-' eases either of-the body or the mindi That in this metropolis, and in jnany parts of the empire, there are many respectable persons, who with the designation only of apothecaries, possess every acquirement which is requisite for the successful exercise of their profession, is well known. But it is equally well known, that there is hardly a neighbourhood which is not infested with some ignorant and illiterate being, who having learned the names of many medicines, and of some diseases, seeks a livelihood by putting the lives of his neighbours at hazard, by pretending to remove the diseases with which they may happen to be afflicted." It admits of no question, that such men are wholly unfit to decide upon the nice distinctions between eccentricity, hypochondriasis, and insanity. Independently of their ignorance, the moral character of men, who thus dare to profess an acquaintance with a difficult profession, must be suspicious. The Act indeed provides, that if the houses be situated within seven miles of London and Westminster,.and 150 Critical Analysis. within the Counfy of Middlesex, it shall be visited by Com* missioners appointed for the purpose, once at least in every year, when the patients are inspected. Beyond this distance, the visitation takes place as often as the Commissioners think fit. Now supposing that a patient has been improperly conlined, a considerable time may elapse before hte case may be known to the Commissioners; and before his release can be effected, great violence may be done to his feelings. Mr.
Parkinson has adduced many cases illustrative of his arguments, for which we refer to his sensible and judicious publication, in which he has fully established the necessity of a revision of that part of the Act which gives so yaguely the power of confinement, Communications relative to the Datura Stramonium, or Thorn-apple ; as a cure or relief of Asthma : Addressed to the Editor of the Monthly Magazine Several of than never before published. 8yo. pp. 90. SJierwood, iNeely, and Jones, 1811. This Pamphlet, as the title expresses, consists chiefly of cases in which Stramonium has been employed in the cure of asthmatic complaints. The professed motives of the Editor in collecting and publishing these communications, do him Lonour, because he believes in the efficacy of the remedjr, and that a more general knowledge of its effects will be beneficial to mankind, whilst he can haye no other interest in its success.
After the ample discussion which this subject has already received in our pages, it may suffice on the present occasion to remark, that the cases now adduced are in favour of the remedy. The objections, however, which were advanced against its introduction into general and indiscriminate practice, in the account of the plant before alluded to, in our opir nibn, still remain in force.* Admitting that it possesses potent qualities, and that it has occasionally proved beneficial; we contend after a fair and full examination of thj; question, founding our judgment upon considerable experience, that the application of Stramonium in the form of smoke, in many t cases of asthma, is dangerous, in proportion as it produces its narcotic effects on the system ; the cough and dyspnoea, may be quieted ; but apoplexy and other serious disorders have sometimes been the result. scription of Datura Stramonium; an extract from Storck's account of it, published at Vienna, in 1762 ; and an extract from the Medical and Physical Journal, May 1811.* We cannot doubt that the attention already excited in the public mind by the various reports, and advertisements, respecting Stramonium, will induce many people to have recourse to it, and that we shall have further opportunities for collecting evidence on the subject. It is difficult to obtain the particulars of the unfavourable cases where the remedy has been used. When persons quack themselves, they are extremely unwilling to publish the mischief which has been occasioned by their own tolly and imprudence. This attentive observer commences with some sensible remarks upon the influence of the seasons in modifying,, and inducing disease ; a subject certainly not sufficiently regarded by practitioners in general. He then notices some objections ofa former reviewer in this Journal, to certain opinions which he had advanced on the subject of diabetes.
The epidemic constitution, from April 1809 to March 1810, gives us a statement of the weather, with an enumeration of the diseases that prevailed in each month. Synochus was the prevailing disease in April and May. In July, Rubeola was prevalent, and in one instance proved fatal, previous to the appearance of the eruption. " Octoler.?Rain in the night of the 13th, 18th, 24th, and 25th. Th? weather this month cloudy and hazy. " Ofihthalmia.?This disease became very general this month, and was considered contagious. It attacked the patient very suddenly, often id the middle of the night, with a violent pain in the orbit, and a sensation of sand in the eye. Gn rising in the morning when the attack has been severe, the eye discharged a purulent fluid, but this was only ifl the more acute cases ; in the majority of instances, the disease was very slight, and was removed in two or three days by a simple collyriuni and a saline cathartic. " Pneumonia,?Some few mild cases of this disease in the early part of this month. " Djseti/eria was much more frequent than usual, not without suspicion that it arose from contagion, from the soldiers on furlough who had returned from foreign service. Debility of the whole alimentary canal was a complaint in those who had suffered from dysentery or cholera.
" Catarrhus was prevalent, and the fever in almost every instance typhoid.
" Pertussis and Rubeola were seen in a few sporadic cases.
" Typhus was unusually frequent this month, and certainly proved Very contagious ; it generally passed through the family. The disease commenced with very strong rigor, often in the night, followed by heat of skin, great thirst, headache, lassitude, languor, pain in every part of the body, sometimes more violent in the chest and sides, and ?then attended with a cough, which induced many to have recourse to bleeding, of which they had soon cause to repent, for the patient seldom recovered a copious general bleeding; the pulse was extremely feeble, not always quick, the tongue much furred, oftentimes blackish at the root, and when put out tremulous ; the bowels at the commencement costive, but as the disease advanced, without medical assistance, a diarrhoea generally followed. With some, the disease was accompanied with sore throat; the fever was not violent, seldom attended with delirium, but lingering. Nearly one-half of the out-patients of the hospital, under the care of the reporter, who had been received for other diseases, had slight attacks of typhus. The only fatal case of those under the care of the reporter, was attended with a vomiting of thick greenish and cofFee-ground-coloured fluids. Medical assistance was not called to this patient until some hours after this fataf symptom had come on ; the extremities had become cold, on the forehead a cold clammy sweat, and no means that were resorted to had the effect of restoring the natural heat of the body ; the countenance was most ghastly, the trtie " facies hypocratica" was marked in each feature ; and entire prostration of strength, the arms hanging down loosely by her side, the hair dishevelled, and a total insensibility to all surrounding objects. Opium, blisters, and every method that was tried proved of no relief; and in twenty-four hours from the first seizure, this fine young girl was an inanimate and unsightly corpse." as n?w much pain in the lower part of the back, sacrum, and pelvis; on examination of the spine, she complained of great tenderness of the sacrum and back; she cannot walk, or even stand, without being supporteu, nor can sheturn herselfin bed, or movethe lower extremities. Th? bowels are Very costive; the bladder appears to be paralytic, as she does not part With her urine oftener than once in 24 hours, and then in the quantity ?f two quarts; the skin is cool, tongue clean; pulse 80 and soft. " She was ordered to take six grains of calomel immediately, and a purging mixture every four hours afterwards, composed of sulphas m-'tgnes. infus. sennas, and pulv. jalapii. This procured several large evacuations.
She was then directed to take a mixture with gum guaiacum, also to rub the spine with lin volat. to use the warm bath every day, and to apply a blister to the sacrum. " May 30th.?Complains of much pain in the epigastric and right hypochondriac regions ; is completely jaundiced ; has a short troublesome cough; the s^in hot; tongue parched, and loaded with a yellow fur; great thirst; pulse 110, full and hard. An inflammation of a rose colour has atlife^d the outside of the right foot, which extends towards the toes, attend'reLjyith swelling and gieat pain; the urine is in small quantity ; makes it more frequent than she did, and it is very yellow ; stools of a dirty white. " I bled her to the quantity of sixteen ounces ; put her upon the anti-? phlogistic plan ; gave her saline medicines, with nitr. and viti. antim. ; purged her smartly every day with calomel and infus of senna, and pulv*. jalap. The blood was highly inflamed ; she was bled again on the 3lst, also on the first of June, and on the fifth. u June Lid.?The gout has attacked the other foot. " June \th. The inflammation has attacked both hands, and even extends to the fino-ers; the feet are better; h.1s more feeling in her legs, Case of Haemorrlicea Petechialis, successfully treated. There is nothing peculiar in this case of a child seven years of age; the medicine was decoction of bark, with muriated tincture of iron : the diet, fresh animal food ; ripe fruits; vegetables; half a pint of port wine, diluted with an equal (No. ] jO.) X quantity 154 Critical Analysis, quantity of water, every twenty-four hours; and tlie body was sponged every four hours with cold vinegar and water. Two Cases where Bleeding, so as to produce Syncope, cared the Disease immediately, without the aid of Medicine.
" Miss Needam, aged 18, apparently of a full habit, pale complexion, but delicate constitution, short chest, has, for the last two years, been subject to violent attacks of apasmodic asthma, and an incessant, short, and irritable cough. <e October 15th.?Was attacked after dancing with the cough, which is . incessant, recurring every second of time, and which appears to arise entirely from irritation ; she has no pain or difficulty in breathing; pulse soft, but frequent; she has been coughing without intermission thirtysix hours; has taken opium, aether, camphor, assafcetida, and inhaled the steam of warm water, and also the vapour of aether, but without the slightest good effect. I bled her from a large orifice to the quantity of twelve ounces, until she fainted; she was very sick and vomited a good deal. The cough immediately ceased, and did not return in the slightest degree again. free from sand, and even when it is received into a glass vessel." llie insect has a hard crustaceous head, with long maxillae, like those of coleopterous larva?. The body appears to have been soft and pulpy, and when magnified resembles curculio nucum.
A semi-transparent line is seen running from the head to the tail. The body is covered with short hairs or setce. The colour is dirty yellowish ; head bright chocolate.
Effects of an excessive dose of Foxglove.
On the 17th of October, 1809, Dr. Henry was called to visit ?Alice Grice, aged about 60, as a home patient of the Manchester Infirmary. She had laboured under ascites for some months, and though already an out-patientof the charity, had taken, at the persuasion of a neighbour, a strong decoction of foxglove, prepared by boiling two handfuls of the leaves in a quart of water during half an hour. Of this, about seven o'clock on the morning of Sunday the 15th, she drank about ten ounces ; in less than an hour she began to be sick and discharged part of the contents of the stomach. " Enough, however, was retained to excite violent retching and vomiting throughout the whole of that and the following day, during which, every thing that was taken was instantly rejected. In the intervals of sickness she was excessively faint, and her skin was covered with a cold sweat. The tongue and lips swelled, and there was a constant flow of viscid saliva from the mouth. Very little urine was voided on Sunday ; and, on the two following days, the action of the kidneys Was entirely suspended. When 1 saw heron Tuesday the sickness had somewhat abated, though it was still extremely distressing. The tongue Was covered with a white fur: the ptyalism continued, though in a iess degree; and the breath was fctid. The pulse was low, irregular, (not exceeding forty) and after every third or fourth pulsation an intermission occurred for some seconds. She complained also of general pains in the limbs, and of cramps in the legs. <{ Though the danger appeared to me to be greatly diminished, yet Something was absolutely necessary to abate the harassing sickness. I directed, therefore, effervescing draughts, prepared with infusion of columbo and carbonate of ammonia, with the addition of ten drops of laudanum to each, to be taken every three hours. In the intervals, thirty drops of a mixture of sether and the compound spirit of ammonia* Were given occasionally ; and she was supplied freely with wine from the hospital. Under this treatment the sickness and vomiting s on abated,'and she gradually returned to her former state of imperfect health. The pulse, however, did not completely regain its regularity before the commencement of the following week." " The case of poisoning by corrosive sublim ife, " Dr. Henry observes, ? is chiefly interesting from its bearing upon a point ot some im? porta nee, which was discussed on a trial for murder at the Lancaster assizes in 1808. The defendant, on that occasion, appeared to owe X 2 his 15(5 Critical Analysis. bis acquittal to the fact, that no poisonous substancc could be detectedafter death, in the contents of the stomach or bowels, though the proper tests were applied with great skill and judgment, by Dr. Bostock. It ?was the declared opinion, however, of that physician at' the time, and ?was afterwards proved by a course of experiments on animals, that a poison may produce fatal effects, and yet be so completely evacuated by vomiting or purging, as to leave no trace discoverable by chemical analysis, iii the contents of the alimentary canal. Some time after this period, the following case occurred to my friend Dr. Holme, who obligingly pointed it out to my notice. " Hannah Tomlinson, aged about 20, was induced by a series of illtreatment and by the apprehension of pregnancy, to form the resolution of destroying herself. With this view, she poured about a quarter of a pint of hot water on an ounce of corrosive sublimate, and drank the whole of what the water could hold, both dissolved and in suspension. The act of swallowing was attended with a violent spasm of the glottis, and a small quantity of the liquid was rejected from the mouth. In less than half an hour she became extremely sick, and discharged the contents of her stomach. The retching, however, continued, and she threw up a considerable quantity of blood. On the following day the sickness had not abated, though the haemorrhage had ceased. Front this time to the period of her death, which, notwithstanding the most judicious treatment, happened on the sixth day, she continued to labour under sickness, anxiety, restlessness, quick pulse, and universal pains in the limbs. To these symptoms supervened, on the jourth day, great pain about the scrobiculus cordis, and tenderness on pressure ; and a few hours before death, a. complete paralysis of the upper and lower extremities took place. <5 Some of the fluid wnich had been vomited about twelve hours after she had taken the sublimate was carefully examined by Dr. Roget (now physician in London) and myself. The tests applied were those which are described in my Elements of Experimental Chemistry, Vol. ii. page 393; but neither in this liquid, nor in that found in the stomach after death, were any traces of the poison discoverable. " On the day after her decease, the body was opened by Da Roget, in the absence of Dr Holme from town. The external appearance of the stomach and intestines was perfectly natural. About two ounces of a thick yellow ropy fluid were found in the stomach, which was but moderately distended with air. On its inner surface, numerous dark red spots, indicating inflammation of the villous coat, were observable. They extended the whole length of the smaller curvature, and occupied the greater part of the fundus, but did not appear in the lower portion of' the large curvature. To me they seemed to resemble, very closely, a similar appearance which I have three or foUr times observed in the stomachs of persons who have died of hydrophobia. No abrasion of the villous coat was perceptible. The inner coat of the duodenum, as far as the middle of its length, presented the same appearance of inflammation The lower.part of the oesophagus, for about three inches above the cardia, was slightly inflamed, but higher up it was of a naturalcolour. The liver arid spleen were sound ; the gall bladder more empty than usual. The left kidney was of a looser texture than natural, and a small Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal. -157 * small absccss was discovered in it filled with pus. The bladder was ?empty, and exceedingly contracted*. 1 lie uteius was of the natural size, and its cavity exhibited no marks of pregnancy. I he ovaria were somewhat enlarged, and the left contained several hydatids ; but no corpus luteum could be detected in either of them. Ihe 'heart and lungs, it may be added, were perfectly sound." Enlargement of the Heart. " Case 1.?Thomas Leech, aged 20, late a sailorin the Royal Navy, ?ad laboured for nearly three years under palpitation of the heart and ?shortness of breathing. About two years before, lie had been induced, by the urgency of his complaints, to desert from his ship, but had been taKen, and sentenced to undergo the punishment of the fleet. His complaints soon afterwards increased so rapidly, that in a short time he received his discharge from service. When I first visited him, on the 23d ?f April, 1S09, as a home-patient of the Manchester Infirmary, his situation was truly deplorable. The pulsation of the heart was felt as low as between the ninth and tenth ribs; was extremely violent, and was attended with that peculiar jarring, which has been described by Dr. ferriar, and other medical writers. The pulse at the wrist was ]28, email and indistinct; the breathing laborious; and every attempt to lie down brought on a sense of suffocation. He was obliged, therefore, t0 sit with his head reclined upon his arms, which were supported by a table. The belly was considerably swelled ; the legs oedematous ; and the mine scant) and high-coloured. He had a constant tendency to sickness, and frequently severe pain in the abdomen His dissolution, indeed, seemed to me so near at hand, that 1 attempted nodiing but to palliate the most urgent symptoms. On the 1st-of May he died ; and "with great difficulty 1 obtained permission to inspect the body, which Was done, under circumstances of haste and interruption from the young man's friends, by Mr. Ransome, one of the surgeons to the Infirmary." 2. William Barlow, aged I f?, was seized suddenly with violent pain in the head, and lost the'use of the right side, lie soon recovered this, however, but was attacked with still Niorc distressing symptoms. The belly and legs began to swell, the breathing became short and laborious. 1 he cedema, soon extended to the face, the eyelids, and the scrotum. He had violent cough and spitting ; the lips had a livid hue. The palpitation of the heart was considerable, and it appeared to be situated lower than natural; ihe stroke was indistinct ai,d distant. There was a visible pulsation ofthe veins of the Heclc. At the wrist the pulse was small, irregular, rapid, a'id not always synchronous with the motions of the heart.
No urine was voided after the third day, and 011 introducing the catheter repeatedly, the bladrier was found empty. Suppression of urine (which took p.ace also in Grice, from an over-dose of one of our most active diuretics), appears to he no uncommon effect of the administration of poisons. Vide iialler, f-lem. vii. 39G, edit, Lausan, 1TJ8.
The appetite was tolerably good; the bowels regular, and the nrine natural in quantity.
He died on the 14th of January. " On the following day, the body was opened by Mr. Ransome. The right sac of the pleura contained about a pint and a* half of serum ; and about nine ounces were found in the pericardium, which had no adhesion to the heart. The heart itself was enlarged, and the parietes of both ventricles were thicker than natural. In the left ventricle, the columne carna were in some places cartilaginous, and in others partially ossified. The right ventricle contained one of those substances which have been erroneously called polypi. But the chief seat of disease was in the right auricle and sinus venosus, which were dilated to twice their natural size, and were ossified in spots. All the valves of the heart, and those at the origin of the large arteries, were healthy. The weight of the heart was 14? troy ounces, perhaps double what it ought to have been in proportion to the size of the subject.* In the abdomen, the only deviation from a sound state of the viscera was an enlargement of the right kidney.
" The pain of the head and paralysis (though not the subsequent removal of the latter), were satisfactorily accounted for on examining" the brain. Its membranes were sound, and no hydropic effusion had taken place between them. But in the posterior part of the brain, immediately above the cornu ammonis of the left lateral ventricle, an abscess was discovered, containing about two drachms of dark-coloured pus. The ventricles themselves contained, if any thing was remarkable, les* than their natural quantity of fluid." Art. IV. Case of Deformity of the Face and Throat from Burning, removed by Chirurgical Operations. By Geoiigb Nesse Kiel, Surgeon, Chester.
A boy, eight years of age, was severely burned from the breastbone along the throat, chin, under lip, and left side of the face to the eye. In about nine months the surface of the burned part was cicatrized ; and during this process, the integuments, from the upper edge of the sternum to the chin, were formed into a hard ridgy band, near two inches wide, and which every day brought the lower jaw nearer to the breast, so as wholly to preclude the possibility of approxn mating the inferior to the upper lip*, occasioning considerable impediment to speech and a constant dripping of saliva ; a dragging'of the whole cheek downwards and backwards to the left ear, which was shrivelled.. The mischief was augmented by a complete cversion of the inferior eye-lid ; and so firm were the parts beneath it become, that the eye-lash lay fixed nearly flat on the cheek, the inner membrane forming, from the shape and unyielding structure of the tarsus, an * Vide Senac, Traitc du Cceur, i. 131. arched Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal. 159 arched fold, tightly embracing the inferior portion of the globe, and leaving it constantly exposed. ^ # . under these circumstances it was determined, in consul ation, to divide, freely, as many of the constricted masses o integument and subjacent parts as would admit of such ^ operation, and effect the intentions indicated. This Mr. Hill executed in the following manner. the uninjured organ, independent of any efforts of the patient for thai purpose. Prepared sponge being inserted into the wound of the cheek, was suffered to remain there till ejected by suppuration it cicatrized in about three weeks. To the eye a cold saturnine cataplasm was applied > it healed without trouble. But in defiance of all caie, and the unremitted assistance of compresses, adhe-ive plasters, and bandage, the cheek was no sooner well than a dragging downwards of the lid became every day more evident, which pulled it into an arch or cup-like form ; here the tears accumulated.and ran over. My little sufferer viewing himself one day in a glass, pointed out where he felt the dragging or tightness at the side of the nose, and a less degree beneath the external canthus. Consenting to have it removed, I took a knife and made a semilunar incision from the nose towards the temple, nearly down to the bone, and filled the wound with sponge tent. The eye was now, completely closed, and covered with folded linen, wetted with cold saturnine solution. Upon the sponge coming away, the eyelid was retained by slips of adhesive plaster, carried up to the forehead. In three weeks this third incision was healed ; the relaxed parts had greatly recovered their tone ; the tears ceased to flow down the cheek." In the treatment of burns on eyery part of the frame, but especially about the face and hands, the great object is to prevent those unseemly and incapacitating contractions so apt to occur.
With a view to enforce this principle, Ave insert the following case, given by Mr. Ilill, and which is properly contrasted with the preceding. " Since transcribing the foregoing narrative from my notes, a case of extensive burn of all the right side of the throat, neck, and shoulder, has fallen under my care ; the subject a fine, tall, thin girl, 11 years old, and it happened in consequence of setting fire to her tippet when alone up stairs. This garment being tied behind, she could-not disembarrass herself from it without coming down for assistance. Cold water was liberally applied before my arrival, I found her quite easy, and directed a continuance of the water, during the preparation of a quantity of the potatoe cataplasm sufficient to cover the whole of the burnt parts. During the first 4-8 hours after the accident, these were occasionally renewed, and kept constantly cool by means of a sponge, imbued with the drainage liquor from the grated roots ; subsequently, a dressing of cerate, softened with sp. tereb. spread on thin lint and covered by fourfold linen wetted with liq. plumb, procured an easy free digestion. But as the mischief was extensive, and the mastoid muscle much injured, I was very anxious to prevent contraction and wry neck. Accordingly, I fixed the head in a similar machine to that already described, so as to preserve the chin in a state of constant elevation ; by which method impending disfigurement was completely avoided, and smooth cicatrization obtained in ten weeks. Analysis. tabtishmcnt and Progress of the Elgin JJotanic Garden," an opportunity is afforded of contrasting the love for science, and the ardent perseverance ot Dr. Hosack, with the neglect and frigid procrastination ot the Legislature of the State ot New-York. The liberality and candour of the individual is finely opposed to the cold, calculating, trading spirit of the public body. Atter a higgling delay of some years, the Garden with its plants, stoves, and conservatories, of which a pleasing view is given in the Hortus, has been conveyed to the State.
No region of the earth seems more appropriate to the improvement of Botany, by the collecting and cultivating of plants, than that where the Elgin Garden is seated. Nearly midway between the northern and southern extremities of the vast American continent, and not more than 40 degrees to the north of the equator, it commands resources of incalculable extent; and the European Botanist will look to it for additions to his catalogue of the highest interest. The indigenous Botany of America possesses most important qualities, and to that, we trust, Prof. Hosack, the projector, and indeed, the creator of this Garden, will particularly turn his atr tention. It can hardly be considered as an act of the imagination, so far does what has already been discovered counv tenance the most sanguine expectations, to conjecture, that in the unexplored wilderness of mountain, forest, and marsh, which composes so much of the western world, lie hidden, plants of extraordinary forms and potent qualities.
From the scientific spirit and persevering industry of Dr. Hosack, every thing may be augured. Already lias he projected an American Botany, or a Flora of the United States, to be illustrated with coloured Plates, similar to those in the English Uotapy" of our ingenious countryman, Dr. Smith.
Considerable progress, we are informed, has already been made in obtaining materials for this work; but wc regret that its completion depends on a contingency-?the permanent preservation of the Elgin Botanic Garden. In the madness of political contention, in the apathy with which governments contemplate the advance of science, in the illiberal finesse and the low juggling of party, we may look for the occasional destruction or suspension of every rational project ; but wc hope these accidents will not frustrate the enlarged and enlightened intention of Dr. Hosack, but rather induce him to extend his Flora, and make the whole of the American continent his Garden.